Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

Month: March 2015

Discount Armageddon: Displays fancy footwork

Discount Armageddon by Seanan McGuire

I’m not an expert on paranormal romance versus urban fantasy, especially when the book seems to land right on the border of those two sub-genres. Based on the sexiness of the female hero, the hotness quotient of the boyfriend/adversary, the quality of the sex (steamy!) and the speed at which, after that first passionate connection, they are arguing again (mere minutes!) I’m categorizing Discount Armageddon as paranormal romance (PR). I’m also categorizing it as fun.

Seanan McGuire is one of the busiest writers in the field;

March 26th, 2015. Marion Deeds and Kat Hooper´s rating: 3 | Seanan McGuire | SFF Reviews | 6 comments |

Darwinia: Europe, suddenly terraformed

Darwinia by Robert Charles Wilson

In 1912, continental Europe suddenly changed into a foreign wilderness. Where there once were European nations arming for war, there are now new ecosystems and alien creatures. There is even a baffling, new evolutionary history. Christians declare “Darwinia” a miracle — what else could explain what’s happened but Biblical precedent? America, meanwhile, declares the continent open for exploration and settlement.

Guilford Law, originally from Boston, is an ambitious photographer who travels to England with his wife and daughter. He leaves them there before traveling alone with the Finch expedition.

The Black Wheel: A must for all Merritt completists

The Black Wheel by Abraham Merritt & Hannes Bok

When Abraham Merritt died of a heart attack on August 21, 1943, at the age of 59, the world lost one of the greatest writers of adventure fantasy of all time. He left behind a number of novels in various stages of completion, including the first quarter of The Black Wheel. Hannes Bok, an artist and illustrator who did almost 150 covers for assorted pulp magazines,

The Octagonal Raven: Be patient with it

The Octagonal Raven by L.E. Modesitt Jr

His fantasy, in particular the RECLUCE saga, is a lot more popular but L.E. Modesitt Jr. has also written quite a few science fiction novels. I’ve read a number of these now and they are usually an all or nothing read for me. Some I enjoyed tremendously (Flash, Adiamante, The Forever Hero), others I will never read again (The Ethos Effect,

WWWednesday: March 24, 2015

Last week, I didn’t post a web-roundup because I was abducted by Martians and they wiped my brain. Sorry, everyone.

Writing, Editing, and Publishing:

Margaret Atwood has a new book coming out in September, set in the near-future world of her Positron short stories.

Cat Valente talks boy heroes vs. girl heroes as she discusses her upcoming book, The Boy Who Lost Fairyland, on John Scalzi’s The Big Idea.

Suvudu’s Cage Match of women warriors features some of our very favorites: Alice Quinn,

March 25th, 2015. Kate Lechler | World Wide Wednesday | 11 comments |

Inside a Silver Box: Too-unorthodox storytelling and a jumbled plot. DNF.

Inside a Silver Box by Walter Mosley

Sometimes you read a book and think, “Well, that was a bad book.” And sometimes you read a book and wonder, “Was that a bad book?” Walter Mosley has been a widely praised author for decades, has won a host of major awards, and is known for his sharp characterization and compelling plotting. So when I read a book of his that just throws me wholly for a loop, one in which I can’t abide either the characters or plot at all, so much so that I have to force myself to reach the halfway point before finally giving up,

Surface Detail: Another wild ride in Iain Banks’ far-future universe

Surface Detail by Iain M. Banks

Surface Detail (2010), the penultimate CULTURE novel, is another wild ride in Iain Banks’ far-future universe. Interestingly (or at least I think so), this novel deals with the afterlife, as does the final CULTURE novel, The Hydrogen Sonata, which was published several months before Banks’ unexpected death of gallbladder cancer in 2013.

Though speculation about what happens beyond death is a heavy subject, Banks deals with it flippantly in Surface Detail (and also to a lesser extent in The Hydrogen Sonata).

Hive Monkey: This fun, fizzy concoction is not completely satisfying

Hive Monkey by Gareth L. Powell

Hive Monkey is the second book in Gareth L. Powell’s ACK ACK MACAQUE series, originally dubbed a trilogy but now, apparently, fated to be a quartet. The eponymous monkey, who likes cigars, rum and flying a refurbished WWII Spitfire, plays a large role in this book, gleefully wreaking mayhem on the bad guys. His sidekicks, Victoria Valois, journalist-turned-airship-captain, K8, plucky girl hacker, and Paul, a hologram, also have roles to play as they battle the colonized drones of an evil hive-mind.

March 25th, 2015. Marion Deeds´s rating: 2.5 | Gareth L. Powell | SFF Reviews | no comments |

C.T. Adams talks about the cover of The Exile

Thanks to Tor, we’ve got a copy of C.T. Adams’ The Exile (Book one in her new FAE series) to give away to a reader with a U.S. or Canadian address. Just submit the form below if you’d like to enter the drawing.

I haven’t read The Exile yet, but the striking cover keeps beckoning me and I will surely give in soon. I asked C.T. Adams what she thought about the cover and whether an artist’s rendering of her characters might influence how the author might view and/or write the character in future volumes of a series.

March 24th, 2015. Kat Hooper | C.T. (Cat) Adams | Author Interviews, Giveaway! | 6 comments |

The Fifth Heart: Moving and thoughtful

The Fifth Heart by Dan Simmons

There are several issues with Dan Simmons’ new novel, The Fifth Heart. It’s too long for one, its 600+ pages probably a good 100-150 pages too many. Simmons has fallen too much in love with his research, slowing the book in multiple places. He drops one of the more intriguing storylines a bit too easily. And the mystery/resolution are a bit anti-climactic. That said, The Fifth Heart still works as a smart literary mix of adventure,

Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

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